Who is a civilian? membership of opposition groups and direct participation in hostilities / Emily Crawford -- The duty in international law to investigate civilian deaths in armed conflict / Mark Lattimer -- Protection by process : implementing the principle of proportionality in contemporary armed conflicts / Amichai Cohen -- Regulating armed drones and other emerging weapons technologies / Stuart Casey-Maslen -- The globalization of non-international armed conflicts / Pavle Kilibarda and Gloria Gaggioli -- Administrative detention in non-international armed conflicts / FranCoise J. Hampson -- The crime of rape in military and civilian jurisdictions / Lois Moore and Christine Chinkin -- The right to reparation for victims of armed conflict / Carla Ferstman -- Arguing international humanitarian law standards in national courts? a spectrum of expectations / Sharon Weill -- The death of Lex Specialis? regional human rights mechanisms and the protection of civilians in armed conflict / Bill Bowring -- Extraterritorial obligations under human rights law / Cedric Ryngaert -- What duties do peacekeepers owe civilians? lessons from the Nuhanovi Case / Liesbeth Zegveld -- Civilian protection and the arms trade treaty / Blinne Ni Ghralaigh -- A path towards greater respect for international humanitarian law / Valentin Zellweger and Francois Voeffray -- The responsibility to protect and non-state armed groups / Jennifer M. Welsh -- Protecting civilians by criminalizing the most serious forms of the illegal use of force : activating the international criminal court's jurisdiction over the crime of aggression / Carrie McDougall -- Elements and innovations in a new global treaty on crimes against humanity / Leila Nadya Sadat.
Summary:
The high civilian death toll in protracted conflicts such as those in Syria or Iraq appears to demonstrate how little the international legal order has to offer to civilians at risk. A recent conference of states convened by the International Committee of the Red Cross referred to `an institutional vacuum in the area of international humanitarian law implementation'. Yet both international humanitarian law and the law of human rights establish a series of rights that, at least in theory, are intended to protect civilians. But which law or laws apply in a given situation and what are the obstacles to their implementation? How can the law assist civilians injured by new methods of warfare, such as drone strikes, or targeted by new forms of military organisation, such as transnational armed groups? Can the implementation gap be filled by the growing but sometimes controversial use of human rights courts to remedy violations of the laws of armed conflict, or by proposals for new instruments or mechanisms of civilian legal protection? This volume brings together contributions from leading academic authorities and legal practitioners to shed light on the situation of civilians in the grey zone between human rights and the laws of war. In Part 1 each chapter considers a key contested or boundary issue in defining the rights of civilians or non-combatants in today's conflicts. Part 2 goes on to assess current and developing legal mechanisms for addressing violations. As military intervention to protect civilians remains highly controversial, this volume looks at the alternative potential for developing a practice of civilian rights protection.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.